Free Pulse (Collide) by Gail McHugh Page B

cap-giving, dimpled smile other half was gone, and there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do to turn back time.
    However, her time was up.

 
    Eyes fluttering open, Emily rolled to her side and yawned. For a second, she didn’t know where she was. Her gaze caught the clock on the nightstand. It was just past two in the morning. Then reality hit. Unrelenting sadness lashed her as she sat up on the edge of the bed. Staring around the empty suite, visions of Gavin swam in her mind. He clearly wasn’t coming back. She sank deeper into a cesspool of pain. She gazed at the clock again before grabbing her luggage and tossing it onto the bed. After rummaging through it, she padded into the bathroom.
    Weariness pulled at her, and regret weakened every muscle as she stepped into the shower. Standing under the hot spray, she decided to leave. She couldn’t stay, even if leaving meant she had to spend the night in the airport. Though a part of her begged her to call a cab, head over to Gavin’s house, and plead with him to take her back, the other part shielded her from any further hurt. She heaved an exhausted sigh, reached for a towel, and wrapped it around herself. After blow drying her hair, she changed into a pair of jean shorts and a T-shirt. She tugged her bag from the bed, gave the breathtaking room one last look, and left.
    In the hallway, Emily turned and felt her legs buckle. Her eyes locked on Gavin stepping from the elevator. When their gazes caught, Emily tried to swallow, but her throat felt too dry and tight. She drew a shuddering breath and let it out as he moved slowly toward her. Her heart tripped, stopped, and restarted when he came within inches of her. His heady, masculine scent engulfed her.
    His gaze zeroed in on her mouth, his voice soft. “I stared at the ceiling half the night wondering if I could honestly go the rest of my life without kissing these lips ever again.” Gavin grazed the pad of his thumb against Emily’s mouth. Letting it linger, he traced the top and bottom. She parted her lips, her mind desperately trying to remind her how to breathe as she stared into his eyes. Gavin stepped closer. “I paced the house when I couldn’t sleep, imagining another day of not feeling this body against mine. This body was made to fit me in every possible way.” Gavin’s fingertips ghosted across her cheek, along the curve of her neck. Coiled heat simmered through Emily’s stomach as his hand drifted down her shoulder, brushed the side of her torso, and finally settled on her waist. He squeezed, and desire jolted up her spine.
    Trembling, Emily dropped her head to the side, but Gavin found her chin and gently lifted her face. She swallowed back tears and turned her green eyes to him.
    He rolled his tongue over his lips and took a breath. “The thought of not seeing your eyes when I wake up, or not hearing your heart next to me when you’re asleep made me sick. With all of that, I decided no, I can’t go another day without you. I don’t want to go another day without you.” Gavin stepped closer, and suddenly, Emily’s back was against the suite door. “You’re mine,” he added. “The second you showed up at my place that night, you sealed your fate.” Emily’s heart pounded. He placed his hands on the sides of her head. “Do you love me, Emily?”
    Her belly knotted, and her breathing became shallow. “Yes, I love you,” she whispered, staring into his blue eyes.
    He licked his lips, dropped a hand to the door, and leaned into her ear. “Do you know you’re mine?”
    She heard the door unlock. “Yes,” she breathed.
    “Say it,” he growled, his lips hovering above hers.
    Her nipples beaded. “I’m yours.”
    “Say it again, Emily.” He curled his arm around her waist, yanked the bag from her hand, and jacked her tight against his chest.
    The blistering heat of his body sent Emily’s emotions crashing over a cliff. “God, Gavin, I’m yours. Forever. No one else.”
    Before Emily